Reflections on Cuba

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It´s the end of our Cubana journey and we are sad as we watch Havana fade away through our little porthole. We head to Mexico and beyond. After two months I believe we only scratched the surface of Cuban life but nethertheless it´s a scratch most people never get to itch.

For me, Cuba was a bit of an enigma that can´t be seen as black and white, a bit like the people - Cuba is the most mixed country we have ever been to. There is no single ´Cuban look'. Jess looked Cuban, even I looked Cuban!

I consider Cuba as the only country on the planet which is truly communist. Communism or socialism for me is the most just form of government, only problem is it can never work - humans don´t like to share. Yet Cubans seem to live side by side on equal terms in an equal society, although some thing work and some things don´t. We saw no one starving, everyone is given a roof over their head, people help one another and Cuba is a safe playground for children (see ´Childsplay in Holquin'). Number one on the list for the revolution was education. It´s the foundation of the nation. Schools work and work very well. Young people we spoke to were literate and smart with awareness of the outside world. But there was frustration with the bureacracy and systems that exist in the country.

As a holiday destination, we know people who would be pulling their hair out after the first week of a visit here. Tourist resorts and areas like Habana Vieja and Trinidad do it Western style which suits most people, but outside those areas it is Cuban style - so laid back it makes Jamaica look like a rat race.

Example: Jessica and I walk into a restaurant in Santa Clara. We are shown to our table. Fifteen minutes later we manage to get a menu. We choose. The next ten minutes are spent waving and seeking eye contact from one of the six waitresses looking after eight tables. Jess is about to eat her chair and I have my eye on the candle stick. Hunger is a powerful thing! In the corner a man plays a piano so out of tune, cats and dogs begin to gather at the windows. This is not helped by his colleague, dressed in white trousers, a shirt covered in parrots, rainbows and monkeys to boot! And to finish this all off, a dodgy brown wig sits on top of long black locks. As the for singing OH MY GOD we're talking murder. (I would like to say though, on the whole, the music was fantastic in Cuba, just not in this restaurant). When the waitresses finished their chat, our order is taken. Rice and beans for two and a couple of Bucaneero beers. Beers arrive after ten minutes, food twenty. Getting the bill? Well you can imagine. That´s just how it works Cuban style. When you are employed by the state, service is not a top prioity.

Don´t be fooled by the American media and their opinion of Cuba. America has a shameful record in Cuba going back to the 1800s to this day. Cuba before the revolution was full of US coffee, sugar and fruit companies using Cubans as slave labour so their produce could be sold at huge profits. During prohibition, Americans used Cuba as a playground for drinking, gambling and prostitution, all glamourised in the black and white photos hanging in the Hotel Nacional.

The USA is but a modern day empire, built under the cloak of spreading democracy. It´s not about politics, but money and greed - just like every empire before it, whether it´s the Romans or Brits you want to compare them too. Backing dictators and governments in Central and South America only to change their minds when it suits. Cuba was no different until Castro came along. I think it is amazing how a small group of idealistic students managed to change the course of a nation. And they really annoyed the Americans and the Cuban rich upper classes.

Take the Bacardi family. While in Cuba, Jessica and I sampled Havana Club rum, previously known as Bacardi in Cuba. In Santiago de Cuba, we visited the Bacardi residence full of priceless paintings, war memorabilia and even an Egyptian mummy - all one man´s private collection. Old money made on the backs of slaves. After the revolution, the land, factories and mansions were taken from the family. The company was nationalised, the land broken up and divided among descendants of slaves for a better life. The Bacardi family upped sticks and moved to Miami. To this day they are one of the strongest anti-Castro groups. They lost a lot and have much to gain if they get back on Cuba soil - money and land! If Cuba´s communism falls, in will move all the US compnaies and playboys. The ordinary people will suffer as before.

But don´t believe all the Cuban media either. With no commerical advertising or independent journalism, only the state´s view is communicated to the people. And they are bombarded - murals, public service announcements, tv programmes documenting the revolution 50 years on. The US economic blockade is used as a scapegoat. The Miami 5 are glorified. Yet tv stations also show recent Hollywood films and Brazilians soap operas.

As I said, Cuba can´t be seen in terms of black and white, it´s very much in the grey. Sure there are many many problems but Cubans make the best of life. Music seeps through the fibres of Cuba and smiles are all to be seen, How many Western countries can say this anymore?

Cuba will live in our minds forever.

From James

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